Diversity and (In)equality in Mainstream Early Childhood Education and Care, ECEC: Categorisation and Pedagogy in relation to Children with Autism

TY - JOUR

T1 - Diversity and (In)equality in Mainstream Early Childhood Education and Care, ECEC

T2 - Categorisation and Pedagogy in relation to Children with Autism

AU - Kjær, Bjørg

AU - Danneskiold-Samsøe, Ida

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - This article is based on results from our anthropological study of children with an autism spectrum diagnoses, ASD, in mainstream early childhood education and care, ECEC, in Denmark. We analyse dilemmas related to diversity and stigma in ECEC unfolding in everyday interactions between adults and children, in particular children with autism. In doing so, we focus on how ECEC staff handle diversity and how this impacts children who stand out in various ways. Our theoretical point of departure is Tom Shakespeare's understanding of disability, which highlights the importance of a dual focus on barriers in a child’s social environment and on his or her individual impairments. To illuminate this pedagogical work, we identify how the social educators balance the children’s individual difficulties on the one hand and their inclusion within the group on the other. We also use Marianne Gullestad's concepts of “equality as sameness” and “symbolic fences” to illustrate how such educational interventions can either exacerbate or prevent the creation of symbolic fences between the children.

AB - This article is based on results from our anthropological study of children with an autism spectrum diagnoses, ASD, in mainstream early childhood education and care, ECEC, in Denmark. We analyse dilemmas related to diversity and stigma in ECEC unfolding in everyday interactions between adults and children, in particular children with autism. In doing so, we focus on how ECEC staff handle diversity and how this impacts children who stand out in various ways. Our theoretical point of departure is Tom Shakespeare's understanding of disability, which highlights the importance of a dual focus on barriers in a child’s social environment and on his or her individual impairments. To illuminate this pedagogical work, we identify how the social educators balance the children’s individual difficulties on the one hand and their inclusion within the group on the other. We also use Marianne Gullestad's concepts of “equality as sameness” and “symbolic fences” to illustrate how such educational interventions can either exacerbate or prevent the creation of symbolic fences between the children.

KW - autism

KW - ECEC

KW - pedagogy

KW - inequality

KW - autism

KW - ECEC

KW - inequality

KW - diversity

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0885-6257

JO - European Journal of Special Needs Education

JF - European Journal of Special Needs Education

ER -